Several lawsuits allege Martin Sprock took undisclosed kickbacks from Moe’s Southwest Grill and Mama Fu’s. In this QSRmagazine.com exclusive, the Raving Brands founder offers his side of the story. By
Fred Minnick

Editor’s note: This
is the final story in a three-part series
about Raving Brands’ and founder Martin
Sprock’s legal battles.

Martin Sprock made big claims
when he founded Raving Brands in 2000, saying that
the holding company would open 1,000 stores in
less than a decade. Those promises looked to become
reality as the Atlanta-based company signed hundreds
of franchise operators and purchased or created
several fast-casual concepts. Sprock became a major
player—a restaurant business celebrity of
sorts—and garnered positive attention from
many business media, including this one.

Then came the lawsuits claiming Sprock took undisclosed
kickbacks from suppliers. Most recently, Sprock
was named in a Moe’s Southwest Grill case
that mentioned a possible sale in order to protect
the plaintiff’s assets.

On April 11, Raving Brands sold Moe’s to FOCUS
Brands. FOCUS president Steve Romaniello says Sprock
will not be involved with Moe’s.

Nobody ever sued us before we
started making money.”

So, what happens to Sprock now and are the accusations
true?

A day before the sale was made public, QSRmagazine.com’s
Fred Minnick asked Sprock some tough questions.

Let’s talk about
the lawsuits you’ve faced or are facing.
What happened with the Jerry Garcia case?

We got sued by the Jerry Garcia [estate] and worked
it out with them. It was very nominal, and I can’t
discuss the details. But let’s put it this
way, we didn’t lose that lawsuit. They were
looking for a big pile of money, which they didn’t
get.

And the three separate franchisee
lawsuits?

Nobody ever sued us before we started making money.
We’re pretty fortunate that the vast majority
of our system loves our brand, loves our food,
thinks we’re doing a great job. They think
we’re one of the fairest franchisors in the
business…We’re going to make mistakes,
and I think some folks just look for any way to
sue people. That’s end of story.

One of the claims is undisclosed
kickbacks going to you and your company SOS.
How much of that is true?

None!

Why are these people, your
business partners, saying that?

That group represents less than 5 percent of our
entire chain. What can I tell you? I did get involved
in purchasing, and I did provide incredible purchasing
power. Most of our group will tell you we have
a great purchasing program. They’re upset
about a legal technicality, and they’re trying
to angle for something in a lawsuit that they see
a different way. We’re just going to have
to let the courts figure that out over the next
couple of years.

Let me just tell you this: Anne Wheatley is the only
person that’s ever left Raving Brands and
said she had unrestricted stock. All of her friends
at the company sat in depositions and said ‘Anne,
that’s not true.’ At some point, you
just got to [say] that’s life. It’s
costing everybody a lot of money and a lot of heartache.